Like an all-day lounge in one’s bedroom after a breakup or similar emotional meltdown, helloe. is all parts relaxed, introspective, moody and reserved. The up-and-coming Houston-based singer LOE exudes a certain confidence on this EP that is demonstrated by a persisting lack of care for conformance. Whatever standards are held by female singers delving into this sound, LOE clearly, and sometimes frustratingly, has no interest in acknowledging them. The EP format helps her leap over potential pitfalls with her decisive artistic vision, leaving us with a sonically strong work. It shamelessly shows off its youthful ambition as it commands the respect typically reserved for LOE’s more established peers.
Yesterday Kendrick dropped the single “i” off his upcoming followup to 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. Earlier this morning, he stopped by the Power 106 station in Los Angeles as a part of the “Big Boy’s Neighborhood” segment. Kendrick was interviewed about his life recently and dropped a freestyle. Check out the interview at Power 106 and watch the freestyle below.
The internet boom of the early 2000’s seemed like the perfect platform for Richard D James’ Aphex Twin persona. Becoming increasingly technical and calculated, Aphex’s albums were a soundtrack for those obsessed with early internet culture in the late ’90’s. However in the blink of eye after releasing 2001’s ambitious Drukqs, the artist known as Aphex Twin was gone. While the electronic music pioneer didn’t quite disappear into obscurity over the past decade, having released work under different monikers, thirteen years is many lifetimes when it comes to the musical landscape in the internet age. Coming out of his cryogenic sleep, Aphex returns with Syro, a work that doesn’t quite pick up where he left off as much as reaffirms us why we’ve missed him. It may not be the revolutionary album some were expecting, but it demonstrates James’ effortless ability to create a fluid, dynamic work encompassing thirty years of dedication to his craft.
Azealia Banks’ long awaited Broke With Expensive Taste may just be around the corner after all. Today the New York based rapper/singer dropped a new single entitled “Chasing Time.”
Killer Mike and El-P are once again teaming up to release a sequel to 2013’s Run the Jewels entitled, you guessed it, Run the Jewels 2. Instead of the usual pre-order special edition however, typically consisting of items like stickers, a t-shirt, or some collectible, the duo have opted for 22 increasingly ludicrous packages.
Though Skrillex and Flux Pavilion may be selling out arenas around the world, we are living in a post-dubstep world. The rise in popularity of heavy bass drops and candy-painted EDM festivals in the United States over the past half-decade has unintentionally spawned a counter-culture of sorts across the Atlantic. With the massive success of UK duo Disclosure, the London dance scene is back on the map and artists such as SBTRKT and Burial are seeing similar results despite remaining frustratingly enigmatic. Wonder Where We Land may be the most exhibited we’ve seen the masked UK producer. After 2011’s self-titled grimy, haunting assortment of underground club tracks, SBTRKT has returned with a bouncy, jazzy take on his signature sound.
Canadian electro-pop singer/songwriter/producer Claire Boucher, known to most as Grimes, has officially scrapped her newest album. In an interview with The New York Times, Grimes discussed her follow-up album to 2012’s Visions and why both the project and her creative process had to be abandoned. She also discussed her boycott of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
SBTRKT has been teasing listeners with tracks from his upcoming studio album Wonder Where We Land. First came the Sampha featured “Temporary View,” followed by “New Dorp, New York” which features Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. Now the UK producer has dropped “Higher,” which notably features the rising talent Raury.
“What’s in it for someone with nothing to do? What’s in it for me?” In 2010 Avi Zahner-Isenberg, front man of psychedelic indie rock group Avi Buffalo, asked this question with more earnest than his typical slacker self. Returning to true form with At Best Cuckold‘s lead single, he seems to have received an answer to that question. His response? “So What?” Four years after the Long Beach natives’ self titled debut, Avi Buffalo has emerged out of obscurity once again. Avi’s apathetic chant on “So What” seems to indicate that the crass twenty-something guitarist hasn’t grown much since we last saw him, but in fact At Best Cuckold proves to be a coy, vague portrait of a man who cared too much.
The Early Registration 